Power of the White Snake
Power of the White Snake (白蛇の力, Shirohebi no Chikara) is a magic that should have never come into existence. Its craft was not one of research, but a direct result of the destruction of a horrible darkness that plagued the world in its suffering. In its wake, a legend was constructed to dissuade others from trying to unearth its evil, yet with time it was too distorted by the greed of mankind. It was no longer a warning, but a challenge, and the reward of fame and acknowledgment was promised to the one who could uncover it. Thus, it was only a matter of time before the desires of humanity uncovered the dark secrets of the gods; a famous archaeologist Laszlo Almasy would be the first to wield its destructive powers. It was this magic that would condemn him rather than earn him a familiar praise. To the world, it is synonymous with destruction and malice. It is one that has a grip on his soul, and although he recognizes it, he can bring himself to cast it away. He uses its powers in hopes of achieving his dreams and desires, or sometimes to do its bidding. In all that he does not know, Laszlo is only certain of one thing: his own mind may no longer be his. Origins The magic itself has all but one wielder, Laszlo, as he was the first to uncover the secrets of the gods and discover its location. Yet, long before he unearthed it, the magic was not referred to as such, but as an enigma renown throughout the lands as the legendary Yamata no Orochi. The tale of the Yamata is one that has encompassed several different meanings whether it is to avoid becoming arrogant, to think uniquely, that man is incapable of standing up to nature, etc., and though several different variations of the tale exist, there is always one common similarity between them all being that the Yamata is a source of evil and despair. However, despite people disregarding these tales as myths, the Orochi's existence was very much as real as anyone could imagine, and to the people of its era it was the source of anguish. The Orochi was not a being that desired power like the legends speak, because it was quite literally a power incarnate; it knew its strengths, and used its strengths to conquer much of the world. It demanded not only mortal sacrifices, but deity tributes as well to be consumed, yet, despite the resistance it received, most were often crushed under by its incredible strength, and even when defeated the creature reformed and destroyed its enemies again. It rejoiced in its immortality, invulnerability, its control over the natural world itself. The Yamata was intoxicated in its own hubris. Having become to great of a threat, the gods elected their strongest warrior, Susanoo, a war god and uncontended deity of the seas and storms, to quell the power of the Yamata. The battle was fierce, lasting well over a week, but in the end, albeit barely, the tutelary deity of storms had proven successful. However, he was nearly overcome by the rage of the Orochi as he defeated it, and it was then that he understood that he had underestimated the Yamata. Recognizing the Orochi's ability to reform, he cast a magic that imprisoned him in the very sword that slew it: Kusanagi no Tsuguri (草薙の剣, lit meaning: "Sword Cutting Grass). Yet, the Yamata still tempted his mind, even through the blade. It's influence transcended the prison that the deities had crafted for it, and so, Susanoo threw it into the Hi River (簸川, Hikawa) to wash away its presence, and then he hid it from mortal eyes. Following its defeat, he crafted a legend to prevent mortals from trying to unearth the truth behind it, but when he disappeared the story was twisted and bent. Having been a famed archaeologist and renown for his discovery of several other mythological places, Laszlo Almasy dedicated years of research to finding what many of his fellow historians had failed to find. Eventually, he deciphered the location through the original legends left behind by the gods, and he travelled their with an expedition to unearth it. There, he found the Hi River, and in its depths he discovered the sword himself. His mistake was pulling it from the river, for then it could exert its presence over Laszlo, and it did when he slept. It spoke to him in his dreams and offered it powers; he took it, and when he awoke he found himself drenched in the blood of his comrades. Description There lies no feasible method of deducing the true power of the Yamata no Orochi; it is an ancient creature talked about in the first documented books, but even in those the story is considered a myth accentuating its age. For many, they consider it one of the first beings in existence, and is believed to be a father to most of its kind. As one of the primordial, its power was rumored great enough that instead of consuming mortals, it consumed deities themselves. The myth of Susanoo quelling it told throughout the ages by the deities and their associates, not because the tale is a valiant one, but because they want mortals to believe that only a god is capable of quelling mother-nature; the Yamata no Orochi is indeed a force of nature, and a deadly one at that. Whether or not it acquired its powers from devouring the seven deities is unknown, though it is certain that at the time of its death, it wielded unprecedented control over the basic elements of the world for each head. By unsheathing the Kusanagi, Laszlo is blessed with the unquantifiable power of the immortal beast as it uses him as a vessel for its soul. Yet, with each time he relies on the demon's power, it gains just a bit of more influence over his being. Like the eight headed dragon, he is simply an avatar and a physical embodiment of the Yamata's power. In a way to wrestle control over the swords wielder, as the Yamata holds little regard for mortals or any other living creature other than itself, it amplifies their negative emotions and suppresses their goods, effectively empowering their darker side while restraining, if not entirely eliminating anything that may have been good about them. The Yamata feeds on their insecurities, and uses those powerful emotions to fuel its own power. While this grants the vessel even more power, their soul is consumed by their own negative emotions until that is all that drives them as a person. Physiological Skills Immense Magical Power: As an ancient and legendary dragon, renown among them as the Serpent King (魔王, Maou), the Orochi's power is a literal force of nature. Ethernano is found in all things natural to the world: the earth, the water, other elements, plants, trees, etc. It is the manifestation of the souls of people; their thoughts and emotions comprise the infinite sea of Ethernano. Yet, it are the deities themselves who are capable of transforming the emotions of mortals; through their worship is how they gather power and control. The more followers a single deity has, the more territory they own, thus the more power they have. Though the Yamata is no longer revered as a god, its name is evoked in ancient myths and legends. It is the demon of the world. Yet, it takes all of those emotions. Each time someone curses the world in his name, when someone thinks of the legend, or when his story is told to children around a campfire, he gains power. Despite all of this, the greatest supplier of magical energy to the Yamata is the host. The beast actively suppresses their positive emotions, and amplifies their negative emotions. As long as they are in possession of the Yamata, they find themselves incapable of escaping its grasp. It is forever in its thought, and it are those emotions, and fears that provide the magical energy the Orochi needs to maintain itself. By extension, they fuel their own reserves of ethernano granting them immeasurable reserves of magical power at their disposal. Aquatic Adaption: One of the territories that the Yamata, having been a water deity prior to his murder, was a massive river known throughout the lands as the Hi River that was responsible for the nourishment of thousands of mortals and deities alike. It was a source of life and energy for the world, yet, it was the Yamata's dwelling. Once a year he would emerge bringing a tsunami in his literal wake and no sooner would it arrive to claim its deity as a sacrifice. As a result, it would be implausible to believe that the Yamata is incapable of handling the rigors of the ocean. What has been essential for the serpent's survival, before all else, is its ability to respirate in the depths of the ocean. Enhanced Senses: Immense Durability and Endurance: Prodigious Speed: Regeneration: Magical Abilities *' :' *' :' *' :' *' :' *' :' *' :' *' :' *' :' Behind the Scenes Hey guys! So, I guess this is the section where I explain everything about the magic, and stuff right? Well, here we go. Essentially, I knew when I joined that I wanted to make a mythological character; it's fairy tail afterall. It gives me that right. I've never been able to do it anywhere else, and the universe is large enough to where I could do it. More than that, it supported Dragons! Though, I must admit that I struggled hard with the concept of dragons. Fairy Tail is heavily based around Western Dragons, in appearance, and personality. So, what I struggled with fitting Japanese dragons into that concept. Ask anyone, Six, Shads, etc. I had no idea what to classify the Yamata no Orochi as. I wasn't sure if it was a deity, as most Japanese dragons were water gods, or if it was a demon, because in some myths it held the power of the demon world. Instead of choosing, I just wound up combining it all then! I classified the Yamata as a dragon, yet, I drew inspiration for the Power of the White Snake from both demonic lore and divine lore. How I incorporated the god portion of it all is in how the power is granted; it's a curse. To be honest, how I came up with that started after talking with shads about his Eidolon Demon Slayer Magic and eventually we concluded that I probably wouldn't be able to use it for my character. So, instead, I thought of other ways to inherit the power of the Yamata, while still ensuring that it retained its "Evilness". Afterall, dragons were evil, and fortunate the Yamata was as similar to a western dragon as the Japanese dragons got. So, I had the curse actually come from the God Susanoo, who the Yamata battled. Susanoo would condemn any mortal who ignored his commands. Of course, gods are arrogant beings. For some reason they think that their laws are absolute. We see this with Zeref who wants nothing more than to bring back his little brother (Natsu of course), yet he is severely punished. I wanted a similar feel with Laszlo, so I had an adventurer, someone who knew the tale, but obviously couldn't even speculate that it was real, use the sword to protect his friends from the same threat that stripped Zeref of his family. I love the connection there personally. The demonic bit falls into line with the Yamata's personality. I think I may have sympathized a bit too much with the creature on the page, but at the same time, I tried to show how small the line between gods and demons really are. Both species are inherently arrogant due to their superior abilities compared to mortals, thus they both commit crimes on humanity almost uncaringly. Or, well, they're crimes to humans at least. Anyway, back to the point. The Yamata is one of the oldest dragons in Japanese mythology, and aside from Ryujin (the deity of the sea who really just takes a draconic form) is the most famous dragon. Yet, despite its age, the stories revolving around it are typically untampered because of the importance of the beast in mythology. The Kusanagi blade, a Japanese treasure, hails from its tail. So, the stories couldn't change too much or else the history of the sword would be lost forever. That's actually the main reason I chose to the use the blade as the means of getting the power of the Yamata no Orochi. It was too easy not to use it honestly, haha. But, back to the demonic nature of the Yamata. Now, the Yamata was a lot more complacent than the other deities, so much that instead of feasting on humans it ate other deities. Albeit, they were rather small, low ranked gods, but gods nevertheless. As a result, I focused (this is more visible on Laszlo's page, though I thought it'd be good to mention it here too) on the hubris of the beast. In fact, had the Yamata actually thought before drinking the sake, yet it's greed (Another deadly sin for that demonic factor) and arrogance blinded it. Now, I could go on and on about how the Yamata demonstrates the seven deadly sins, but I'm not because that'd take way too long, and I'm much to lazy to do that. But, it's because of those sins that it demonstrates, how it's vilified in mythology, and the fact that it's a serpent, that the Yamata is often depicted as a Devil figure in popular works. We all probably know that the Devil, Lucifer, took the form of a snake and tempted Eve, so I won't really go into all that. If you're interested further in Christianity, I can surely point you in the right direction to some fantastic readings. Just comment below and I'll supply that information, but for the sake of time and effort I won't go into all of that in this description. So, if I haven't made my point about the demonic factor of the Yamata being clear, then I don't think I ever will, haha. Anyway, because I established the Yamata as the "Devil" essentially, I made it so that the curse brought out negative emotions and suppressed positive emotions. I think they actually did a similar thing in teenage mutant ninja turtles as well oddly enough. TMNT incorporates mythology a lot more than people think actually. I suggest checking out blogs about it. I think you'd be fascinated. But anyway, now I have powers established via negative emotions which, I think, makes it pretty damn demonic ish. Anyway though, that's how I connected the three races in which I had trouble deciding. Now, onto the actual abilities. Without a doubt, the Yamata no Orochi is a very powerful creature. Even in Japanese mythos, it was pretty much unstoppable. Afterall, I mentioned that it devoured deities instead of people. Not to mention Susanoo (and yes, Susanoo was a MAJOR deity) had to essentially incapacitate it via alcohol to even stand a chance against it. So, the Yamata is powerful, and I did much best to showcase how unlimited the scope of its powers really are. However, as everything is strong, it is equally weak. One, the Yamata MUST drink alcohol if offered. It's a thing. It doesn't pass it up. Same with Laszlo of course. He doesn't pass up any alcoholic beverage. Two, I think the biggest thing is the sword of Kusanagi. It's essentially the Excalibur of Japanese myth, and it's pretty much indestructible against typical weapons; though there does exist a counter to the sword. The 'Ame-no-Habakiri (天羽々斬?, lit. "Snake-Slayer of Takamagahara"), famously known as the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi (十拳剣?, lit. "Sword of Length of Ten Fists") are both capable of destroying the Kusanagi in the hands of the proper wielder. In addition—odd enough considering I'm using a sword but it's whatevs—dragons (in the Asian culture) are allergic to iron. I don't mean the "Oh my god, I break out" or the "Yeah, man I sneeze whenever I get around that iron you know." I mean that, "Oh my god, I can't move my body when I have iron in me" or "I feel like all the power has been zapped from my body" type iron. Makes it really hard to actually eat people which is probably why most Asian dragons didn't do it. That's probably the Yamata preferred gods over people too actually. Anyway, point is, iron is extremely incapacitating to the Orochi, just as it is to all Asian dragons (Hindi, Bhuudist, Chinese, Japanese, and whatever the hell is left). Though, why we're on the topic of allergens, I think it's only fair to mention what else the Orochi would be allergic to. This may or may not come as a surprise to all of you, but, the Yamata is also allergic to a mongoose. Or, rather, I should say he has mongoose-phobia, if that's even a thing. As we learned in elementary school, the mongoose is the predator to the snake. It hunts it and devours it. It's immune to most of their poisons. It's stronger, faster, braver, probably not as smart, but we'll say smarter anyway just to prove how badass mongoose are. So, that's another thing to consider. Personally, I've never even seen a mongoose. From what I was told in elementary school, I thought they would be a much bigger deal to be honest. Like, I imagined a snake crawling out from the bushes and then this badass weasel looking thing comes and rips its head off. But, anyway, the best way to take on Laszlo would be to get a mongoose. Truthfully, your characters should be carrying them around at all times, cause that's not weird right? Right! Moving on though. Another big weakness: the tails. Jesus Christ, whatever you do please do not step on his tail. Nothing pisses off anything more than stepping on their tails. It's like hitting your funny bone. It's never ever funny. Anyway, of course, as the Yamata gets larger, as in when Laszlo has transformed into the entirety of the demon, I think it becomes obvious that hurting its tail becomes much harder. Stepping on it, grabbing it, or slapping it doesn't really work when the tail is several times your size. Though, of course, cut one off and that's a different story. The heart of any creature is in their tail. That's why Susanoo found the Kusanagi in the tail of the Yamata in Japanese myth, so all I'm doing is playing off that. So, whenever Laszlo accesses his powers, a tail hangs from his backside. If you read the page you'd know that, so I'm not going to waste more time on how the tail got there, its importance, etc. Know though that grabbing that sucker when it's out is probably a good thing, or cutting it off is even better. It render him incapacitated for a period of time that you could use to strike him. Um though, other than that I don't really know what more to say. I included just a set of weaknesses I knew, because I'll be honest, on paper this guy looks pretty powerful, and I surely wasn't going to make the Yamata not seem like a big deal, but the Yamata is a big fucking deal if I haven't engrained that into you people yet. If not, leave a comment and I'll follow up with a three page essay on exactly why the Yamata is a big deal as a reply. All jokes aside though, I think this concludes the behind the scenes section. The purpose of this was to give you a feel behind the varying mythologies put into the character so that it gives you a better understanding of why this is that, and why that is this. I hope you enjoy the read, of the character and the behind the scenes, and hopefully you'll look forward to more of my work. Thank you! Trivia *The name of this magic is inspired from my favorite anime, Naruto. It's used by Orochimaru. I think everyone knows who that is. Orochimaru though is inspired directly from the legend of the Yamata no Orochi which is even cooler, and if you read the page, you'll know exactly what that legend is. I could write a page on the Yamata. That's why I wrote a page on the Yamata. I bet this looked super dumb before I completed the page, haha. *The Hi River (簸川, Mikawa) is a reference to the Hino River (日野川 Hino-gawa?).